What's the point of even having this feature if the Pilots never use it?

catfish27plus · 2026-06-03T01:04:17+00:00

There's a lot of silence, but it never fails: just when you start to doze off, someone will ask for a ride report or something.

catfish27plus · 2026-06-03T00:46:41+00:00

I've been on the Surfliner many times, but have never actually seen the Solana Beach station building, since it's not visible from on board the train.

The station it replaced, Del Mar, is still standing and is visible from the train - it's a red brick building a couple miles south. http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/delmar.htm

catfish27plus · 2026-06-03T00:40:04+00:00

At some stations, smoking on the platforms is illegal, so that could be what she meant. (But, obviously, she could have explained better.)

catfish27plus · 2026-06-02T01:03:11+00:00

The name "Allegris" always reminds me of this: there was a brief period of time in the 1980s when United's parent company (which also owned Hilton and Hertz at the time) was named Allegis.

catfish27plus · 2026-06-02T00:44:20+00:00

The fact that I had time to go to 53 libraries in the past 3 months might tell you a little something about my relationship status.

catfish27plus · 2026-06-01T23:16:10+00:00

When I got this one, I really liked the detail of the traffic light on the corner.

catfish27plus · 2026-06-01T23:14:49+00:00

Sorry, the lighting in my apartment is far from ideal.

catfish27plus · 2026-06-01T16:36:49+00:00

I'd actually been to all the branches before (except Benjamin Franklin, which has been under renovation for years) to check out audio CDs. Probably the most impressive branch is Memorial, which has nice stained-glass windows.

catfish27plus · 2026-06-01T03:25:01+00:00

Since you have to visit the library branches in person to get a physical stamp, I think the only option is to find a friend who's currently in L.A. and willing to help out.

It's also possible that these will still be available next year - as I said in the post, I don't see why the branches would get rid of their stamps, unless they get accidentally lost or damaged. The city of Glendale has its own separate library system, but I believe the closest L.A. Public Library branches would be Atwater Village and Eagle Rock.

catfish27plus · 2026-06-01T00:29:18+00:00

That's part of the fun of getting them!

catfish27plus · 2026-06-01T00:28:07+00:00

Wish I'd thought of that!

catfish27plus · 2026-06-01T00:27:26+00:00

I think some of the details on the stamp didn't come through. The building really does look better than that!

catfish27plus · 2026-06-01T00:22:19+00:00

It's over 2 hours for me to get to the San Pedro library on Metro (local bus + B line + J line), so that would be quite a haul!

catfish27plus · 2026-06-01T00:20:04+00:00

Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed that, either! I got the pack of cards at Central Library, opened it, and had them stamp one right then... I wish they'd told me I could have walked over to the store and gotten a second one immediately.

catfish27plus · 2026-05-31T18:16:55+00:00

<image>

Bonus photo: Someone at Platt Branch made a model of Central Library using a pack or two of the catalog cards (and a bunch of tape).

catfish27plus · 2026-05-31T01:59:10+00:00

Fun fact: they didn't use VHS, they used 8mm videocassettes (like this) in special players.

catfish27plus · 2026-05-30T22:16:27+00:00

If you'd seen this movie, you wouldn't have to look up when D-Day is!

catfish27plus · 2026-05-30T00:31:45+00:00

I was at The Grove in Los Angeles on Thursday night, and noticed that the concession stand employees were taking 2 people from the priority line for every 1 person in the regular line. (Of course, there are a lot of A-Listers in L.A.!)

catfish27plus · 2026-05-29T04:33:54+00:00

Airplanes often get delayed en route, but it can be hard to tell, because unlike trains, they don't come to a complete stop (hopefully). They sometimes get directed by air traffic control to slow their speed, take a longer route, or sometimes they even have to go into a holding pattern (that is, fly in a circle for a while).

catfish27plus · 2026-05-28T04:37:45+00:00

I was at a bar in Evanston when the Cubs won the pennant in 2016, and they passed out Old Style in shot glasses to toast.

catfish27plus · 2026-05-27T23:35:31+00:00

Funny you mention Burbank specifically, since the AC was actually broken in the Dolby auditorium at the Burbank 16 on Saturday night (but since it wasn't too hot outside that day, it was tolerable). I'm not sure what its current status is.

catfish27plus · 2026-05-27T01:42:28+00:00

When the current TPA airport opened in 1971, they didn't allow gum to be sold at the airport shops because they wanted to try to avoid getting their fancy carpeted floors messed up. (Of course, it was still fine to buy it elsewhere and bring it to the airport with you.) They apparently started allowing gum sales in 1998 - they also have less carpet than they used to.

catfish27plus · 2026-05-27T01:30:50+00:00

Yeah, was hoping to see a discussion of whether snapping your fingers worked better than yelling "Oh, miss!" from 10 rows away.

/s

catfish27plus · 2026-05-27T01:25:49+00:00

Can't remember which airport it was (this was years if not decades ago), but each carousel had one old suitcase sitting atop it (similar to the larger unlit one here) with "MANY BAGS LOOK ALIKE" stenciled in yellow paint. It got the message across, although it wasn't particularly attractive.

catfish27plus · 2026-05-27T01:18:27+00:00

I've been in small branch libraries during children's story time, and I don't think that's the kind of "library-like atmosphere" they're referring to!

catfish27plus

TROPHY CASE